NHL 2021-22 Central Division Preview

When news of the NHL realigning their divisions broke eight years ago, I was wondering how they would look. Not surprisingly, I was immensely happy with the look of the four divisions, but the one I couldn't help but gush over the most was the Central Division. I literally salivated over this; it looked like it was going to be a very, very fun division to watch.

Here's how the new look Central Division was formed. Originally, the NHL took the remaining teams of the five-team Central (Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, and St. Louis Blues), and aligned them with the Dallas Stars from the Pacific Division, the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild from the Northwest Division, and the Winnipeg Jets from the Eastern Conference's Southeast Division. The Jets were one of three teams who switched conferences in the 2013-14 season, moving from East to West while the Detroit Red Wings and the Columbus Blue Jackets moved from West to East. In fact, it was because of the relocated Winnipeg Jets that the alignment happened, as they remained in the Southeast Division even after they moved from Atlanta, where they played 11 seasons (1999-2011) as the Thrashers.

The Central Division had seven teams throughout its formation, but in December 2018, it was announced that the Arizona Coyotes would move from the Pacific to the Central in the 2021-22 season, doing so to make room for the expansion Seattle Kraken. The Central Division is quite similar to the old Norris Division, which had the Chicago Blackhawks, the St. Louis Blues, and the old Minnesota North Stars. Those same three teams are in the current Central, though the former North Stars are now in Dallas, but it does have a Minnesota representative in the form of the Wild. The addition of the Coyotes is an interesting one, as it puts the team formerly known as the Winnipeg Jets in the same division with the team currently carrying that very name.

As a Colorado Avalanche fan, I was actually concerned about this division. I was wondering if the Avalanche could keep up with those teams, because when the division was formed, it was very stacked. When the Avalanche became the first winners of the new Central, I knew the team would be all right. It has been very fun for me, as an Avalanche fan, to watch these division rivalries. The most familiar one is with the Wild, as the teams were in the Northwest Division together, but forming rivalries with the other five teams? Absolutely superb. And now there's the Coyotes as well. Just immensely epic!

The Avalanche are now that team who can really make some noise in the NHL. It took a long while, but the team is considered a heavy Cup favorite entering this season. However, the Central has another heavyweight in the form of the Blues, and one has to think that they are fuming over their failure to win a single playoff game this past season. The Jets are another strong force; they have been since the 2017-18 season, which was the year they won a playoff series for the first time and reached the Western Conference Final. But they haven't come close to that since then. Even so, you cannot sleep on the Jets--they are a serious threat.

The Stars will be two seasons removed from reaching the Stanley Cup Final, but the previous year saw them miss the playoffs entirely in the localized Central Division that was formed for that year only. The Chicago Blackhawks showed some promise; the team was supposed to be rebuilding, but they definitely looked like a team that was headed for the playoffs, so who knows what can happen with them? The Predators are still trying to capture the magic they had in the 2016-17 season. They went to the Stanley Cup Final that year, but since then, they have been slowly descending. Now, they will play their first season without Pekka Rinne, as their longtime old reliable called it a career after this past season. The Wild were impressive in the previous campaign, and it was mostly thanks to their Calder winning star, Kirill Kaprizov, who received a huge extension during the offseason. 27 goals, 24 assists, 51 points in 55 games played. That definitely warrants an extension.

Which brings me to the Central's greenhorns, the Coyotes. I'm honestly concerned for the Coyotes. This team didn't do well in the Pacific Division. They won't survive the Central. All of those games against Colorado? St. Louis? Winnipeg and Minnesota? That's not good. This team really needs to build up to keep up with their new division rivals, and do it fast! If they don't, this could be another Sabres situation. As for how the division will play out, it's a doozy. I think the Avalanche and Blues will be the top two, but the other teams are so talented that the #3 spot will be a grueling fight. I wouldn't be shocked if Dallas finishes third. Same goes for the Wild and Jets. The Stars suffered mostly because they were in a division with the Florida teams and Carolina. That won't happen, they should do better, I'll go with the Jets to join Colorado and St. Louis up top, but I can see the Stars and Wild getting in as Wild Cards.

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